Our View: Reclaiming First is a step toward big goals

Wednesday

Aug 6, 2014 at 5:27 PMAug 6, 2014 at 5:27 PM

The superlatives were flowing Friday. Unparalleled and unmatched. World-class facilities. Building the future. No. 1 in the nation.

It’s been almost three years since we first heard about Reclaiming First, the initiative that aims to put the Rockford region on the top of the amateur sports world, and finally earth is moving and improvements are underway.

Just about every local elected official attended Friday’s kickoff of construction at Sportscore Two. Gov. Pat Quinn made the trip to Rockford to celebrate the start of the long-awaited project as well. It was indeed a kickoff. Instead of the traditional shovels and hard hats, those assembled kicked soccer balls into a goal.

In 2004, Sports Illustrated recognized Rockford as one of the 50 best “Sportstowns” in America. The magazine noted Rockford’s thriving amateur, recreational and professional sports scene and its strong golf tradition.

Rockford’s sports scene has been one of the few sources of community pride in recent years. Amateur and recreational sports still are strong but have taken a hit in recent years as other communities have built and improved their facilities, luring tournaments from Rockford. Reclaiming First will lure some of those tournaments back and attract new ones with the improvements at Sportscore Two and the Indoor Sports Center and the revamp of the old Ingersoll building in downtown Rockford.

You can see the economic impact sports tourism has in this area just about every weekend. You see kids in soccer and softball uniforms filling restaurants and running into gas stations to grab a few snacks. Those kids and their parents fill hotel rooms and generate millions of dollars for the local economy.

Sports tourism adds about $15.25 million annually to the local economy. It generates $1.85 million in tax revenues for local governments and adds the equivalent of 226 full-time jobs.

Reclaiming First has the potential to double those numbers.

As exciting as the Sportscore Two/ISC development is, the really transformational piece of Reclaiming First is the Ingersoll building. Ingersoll will be turned into an indoor sports complex that could host basketball, volleyball and other tournaments and events.

That part is the catalyst that is driving other downtown development. The $50 million Amerock/Ziock project probably doesn’t happen without the Ingersoll rehab. Without Amerock/Ziock, the renovation of the Hanley building remains a dream. And without that, a half dozen or so smaller developments would not even be considered.

Without Reclaiming First, almost $100 million in downtown investment would never be realized.

The start of this project is a big win for the community. If all goes as planned, it will be the start of a winning streak.